James Rikard-Bell

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Throughout the weeks I have been fascinated with the idea of bringing the street into the gallery space. To do this successfully the ground level has no walls on the exterior facade which immediately opens the site up to the street and exposes it making it appear like an extension of the street or a mall for human congregation and meeting. To create a semi enclosed area a two story curtain wall extends to a glass covered roof on the street facade just like in the roves of the British museum and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. The glass roof questions what is really internal or external space as the sun and sky are absorbed into the open-air design.

To follow the idea of street art which is characteristic of Newtown and compliment the artworks exhibited in the gallery, people re encouraged to use the gallery as an open art space. The open area encourages people to meet and express themselves in this area and add to the art in the gallery and furthermore the street. This encourages people to express how they feel and what they see and further develop the artistic char cater of Newtown. This idea was inspired by the very famous and controversial street artist Banksy.

To separate the street art from the art being exhibited pods have been designed which sit within the structure. The pods are metaphors for the organs of the body that bring the building to life. The first pod is two stories high and is the main displaying area. the rooms have no windows and rely on artificial light to protect the paintings. The first pod has an entry on the ground level and just like in the pod in the British museum there are stairs which embrace the either side and ascend to the second level where one can enter the pod from the rear. In the centre of the design there are two circles which create an open courtyard in the middle of the building where sculptures are exhibited. This questions what is internal and what is external space as the external space appears enclosed and the internal space appears exposed and open to the public. The final pod joined to the gallery space consumes the external courtyard and is three levels high, there is a spiral staircase which encircles the pod emphasising the organic design. The reason why the pods are so important is that they further reiterate the idea of art as the pods themselves embody art and appear to be like sculptures within the building. The circulation is like a journey and reminiscent of the actions one takes around sculptures. The stairs encircle, ascend and descend around the pods as if one is examining a sculptural piece of art.

The last courtyard joins the busy street on king street to the peaceful and organic park behind the building. This creates an organic and fluid unity of the busy city to the peace of nature. This is important to the design as it creates a journey within the building. the final pod which has a kiosk on the bottom level has been purposefully placed here so that artists and gallery goers can reflect on their journey reminisce their thoughts and feelings. This is important as it acts as the culmination of the journey and its important with any journey that there is a proper beginning and end. The upper level consists of the bedroom of the gallery owner.

My idea has evolved into a more organic design from the original squares. The circles were inspired by the pod like structure in the British Museum. The first pod shown in the pod is two stories high and stands beneath a 3 story glass roof. The two circles joined the the middle create a courtyard space in the centre of the structure. this blurs the distinction between interior and exterior space. The last circle at the back is extended from the enclosed space at the front and eats away at a courtyard bordered by the walls from the existing buildings. This again question what is internal and what is external. the final cube at the end is the kitchenette/ kiosk with an upstairs bedroom for the gallery owner.

The art dealer that owns this art gallery is a young and modern man inspired by street art as he believes it communicates to the everyday public with modern concerns and issues.The art dealer has travelled the world and visited all the major cities absorbing the unique cultures. The artist who has been most influential is Banksy from England, who has a rebellious reputation of illegally painting and graffiting public areas with controversial images.The art dealer is so fascinated by street art that this inspired his new art gallery. The dealer wanted to bring the street into the gallery and make it an open art gallery to the public, where people can come and look at artworks on display but also express themselves through art on the side walls.

The chosen artist Banksy was inspired by ambiance of Newtown. I enjoyed the laid back and trendy atmosphere of Newtown and wanted to bring that into my Gallery design. The most striking element of Newtown was the great street art which gave the area such character and atmosphere. I wanted to capture this atmosphere and implement it into my final design, in conjunction with the ideas of mixing internal and external space.

The image above shows the colours and liveliness of Newtown. The painting is also a controversial and relevant picture highlighting the importance of the Aboriginal community in this area and Australia.

Banksy is known for being a controversial artist that wants to use the streets to communicate to the public and question controversial issues that are relevant to today's people and world. this is highlighted in some of the pictures below.

Both these very famous buildings inspired my design. I was fascinated with the idea of blurring what is internal and external space. These buildings are compsed with classical ornamentation and look like the facades on a grand courtyard yet interestingly enough the space is actually internal as it is covered by large glass rooves. The large rooves reinforce the idea on open air as they allow the blue sky to dominate and filter in natural light into the building.